TransManche Link (Cross Channel Link) or TML was a British-French construction

consortium A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...

responsible for building the

Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (), sometimes referred to by the Portmanteau, portmanteau Chunnel, is a undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at ...

under the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

between Cheriton in England, and Coquelles in France.

History

In April 1985 the British and French governments invited proposals for the construction of a link between the two countries to be privately funded. In January 1986 the two governments selected the Channel Tunnel Group/France Manche proposal for the construction of two undersea tunnels. At

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

on 12 February 1986 the governments signed a treaty approving construction of the Channel Tunnel. In March the concession for the operation of the tunnel was given to Channel Tunnel Group (CTG) and France Manche (FM). Following the award of this concession CTG was subsumed by the newly formed Eurotunnel plc and FM was similarly replaced with Eurotunnel SA, together these formed the Eurotunnel Group. In July 1985 the British contractors formed Translink Contractors and the French consortium formed Transmanche Construction. On 18 October 1985 these two groups were merged to create TransManche Link (TML). TML was thus contracted to build the tunnel for its customer, Eurotunnel, who would own and operate it. TML senior management were employees of the partner companies seconded to the new organisation. In October 1986 Eurotunnel was partially floated and the contractors and banks no longer exercised control over the company. Beginning in 1987 relations between TML and Eurotunnel deteriorated, with significant and increasingly public rows erupting over cost and programme management. With the completion of the Channel Tunnel TML ceased to exist.

Organisation

The participants were as follows:Channel Tunnel on Structurae database
/ref> Channel Tunnel Group (later Translink Contractors) *

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* Costain * Tarmac Construction *

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* Wimpey International Construction *

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France Manche (later Transmanche Construction) *

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*Dumez *Société Auxiliaire d’Entreprise *Société Générale d’Entreprises * Spie Batignolles *

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* Banque Indosuez

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transmanche Link Channel Tunnel Construction and civil engineering companies of the United Kingdom Tunnelling organizations Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1985 British companies established in 1985 Construction and civil engineering companies disestablished in the 20th century